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Order 66
0900, Felucia, the fall. We had almost taken control of a Separatist outpost, Resh was going nuts with the artillery. Burner was leading most of the Brigade towards the center. For weeks we had been fighting off Separatist, and the infernal creatures that ruled the land. We were finally going to take their central base of operations, that was our main focus. We never saw it coming, but how could we? After all the blood, the screams, the man eating Rancors that attacked during the night, we were finally going to take control of the planet. After the objective was completed, the Hyena Brigade was finally getting out of there. I spotted a crab droid and leaped onto it. It tried to shake me off, and I almost lost my balance but I managed to land a shot into it's middle and it fell to the ground, its red light blinking a few times before it finally lost color. Suddenly my comlink beeped and I quickly took cover, then answered it. It was Burner! I hoped he was reporting that the droids' numbers were almost depleted, and that a Republic victory was within our grasp. But instead... "Flash, repeat the message to the rest of the Hyena. Chancellor Palpatine has just commanded that we execute Order 66." That was all. I was confused for a minute, then I realized what it meant. I didn't think straight...I...I repeated the message to the rest of the Hyena. The order... the order to betray the Republic, and to betray our Jedi Generals, the order that no clone could disobey. It haunts me, it will always haunt me. Suddenly all the droids deactivated and collapsed to the ground, we didn't pay much attention and immediately we started trying to determine the position of Aayla Secura. In the point of view while my mind was corrupted: 0100: Invasion of The Temple We received word that unit CC-5052, one of those marshal commanders, had taken care of Aayla Secura deep in the heart of Felucia. However, Bariss Offee and her apprentice Zonder's positions were still unknown. The Hyena was given the assignment of attempting to hunt them down and make them pay for their treachery. And so we did. The Hyena Brigade was filled with pride that we had never felt before, the ground seemed to shake at our feet as we scouted through the jungle, searching for our former leaders. Finally, after so long of the'' Jedi'' taking credit for our victories, after so long of having to obey orders from people who knew nothing about leading a war, we were finally in control. The clones had risen, we gave the orders. After trekking through the grim jungle and fighting off a few Rancors and Acklays, we finally located Bariss Offee hiding in a cave approximately 16 miles southeast of her last known position. The job was completed swiftly and thoroughly. A Jedi down, the higher the clones rose, we felt no sympathy for the traitor. The position of the Jedi padawan named Zonder was still unknown, but the recon units would have to find him, because the Brigade was heading for Coruscant. Mavrick Turbo learned the terrifying truth that morning. He knew it would happen eventually, but it still shocked him just the same. Order 66 had been given. After searching for so long, he still hadn't found out a way to to stop it from happening. He had discovered about Order 66 and how it would make the clones turn against the Jedi from investigating with Captain Rex shortly after the death of Arc Trooper Fives, yet he still hadn't found a solution. Now time was up, it was over. The clones would kill the Jedi and everything they had fought so hard for over the years would be for nothing. He had already tried to warn the Brigade, but they didn't believe a word. Thought the stress of war had finally taken its tole on him. He had decided to try and solve it on his own, escaping to the desolate underworld of Coruscant that had become his home over the last couple of months. The rest of the Brigade... they were most likely... He didn't finish the thought, he couldn't, it was too terrible. He slammed his fists down on the dusty table then started crying a bit. He wasn't able to save them, he was too slow, he hadn't tried hard enough. And now because of it, everything had fallen. Then he realized what an idiot he was being right now. He sat up in his chair and thought,'' what am I doing? I'm whimpering in a corner while the Brigade, not to mention the rest of the clones are... doing unspeakable things, not even realizing what they're doing. '' He stood up and headed for the door. "I'm going to find them and i'm going to stop them, cure or not." He whispered to himself. We marched up the steps of the temple, knowing what we were doing was right, and that we were saving the galaxy from the evil within the Jedi order. I glanced over to my side at Commander Burner who nodded slightly. Whatever happened tonight, no matter how many clone deaths, we were determined to take the Jedi down. It was time for a new order, and new leaders. This was it. Since Burner and Resh and I were in the front, we received the honor of eliminating the entrance guards. Suddenly an alarm sounded and the temple doors started to close! We only had seconds to react before the two doors collided and we were locked out. Resh ran and took off the frame of the security lock then started disconnecting and reconnecting different wires. Time was running out and sweat started trickling down my temple. There wasn't time to get any sort of bomb and blow through the walls before the Coruscant guards and possibly some Temple Guards would charge us, we would be sitting ducks. Just then, seconds before they closed, the doors ceased to move; Resh had done it! He turned, swelling with pride. "You're welcome!" He said. Burner gave him a nod and a pat on the back, then we started to move forward again. Suddenly a figure appeared out of no where, yelling and flailing his arms like a lunatic. My finger curled around the trigger, I didn't know what to expect. Then I saw the helmet less figure and my eyes widened inside my helmet. "Mavrick?" "STOP! STOP!" He yelled. There was definitely something different about him. "Mavrick what the Blast is wrong with you?!" I yelled, confusion and anger for his seemingly desertion of the army and his sudden appearance here with out warning taking control of me. Suddenly Jedi flooded from the temple like brown water. There were hundreds of them, yelling war cries and advancing on us, swarming out like angry bees being robbed of their honey. We were breed to feel invincible, but at this moment, I, along with all the Hyena Brigade felt like ants about to be crushed by a giant boot. We starting shooting, and all hell broke loose as Clones and Jedi collided. Their swords sliced through clones' armor like butter, almost every shot we fired was deflected. These were no temple guards, these were highly trained Jedi Masters. "NOOOOOOOO!!!" Screamed Mavrick. I risked a look to my side and saw his face. Even in the worst of situations Mavrick was never afraid. Now there was so much horror in his eyes, that I felt sick inside. The Jedi were traitors, but we had never really killed ACTUAL beings before. Just droids. Always the Droids. We were killing actual people. I ducked for cover behind a giant statue of a Jedi guardian... something was wrong. But-- but the Jedi were wrong--they were-... wrong?-- why wrong?- wrong-- because- the Jedi are evil and... evil? how were-- THE JEDI ARE WRONG! WRONG! BAD! ''My head throbbed with pain. It was like there was something inside my skull, pounding, trying to break its way out. The Jedi were the enemy. We had to stop them. But... Why were they the enemy? What happened... More pounding, horrible, my head was aching. I realized I was sweating hard. I shook my head. If I kept standing here I would be dead in a minute. Had. To get back. to. battle. The battle. I turned-- A Jedi was right in front of me! I jumped back in surprise then aimed my weapon at it, but before I could take the shot my Rifle was sliced in half. I was done. I let the remaining half of the rifle still in my hand drop to the ground and I looked up at the Jedi. It was human, male, with a bluish greenish Lightsaber. I closed my eyes tight and braced myself for the final blow. Several seconds went by, nothing, nothing but the screams and shots. What was he waiting for?... Slowly, I opened my eyes one at a time. This time I got a better look at him. He was tall, with green eyes, brown hair, and an odd expression on his face. He was just standing there, staring at me. What was he doing? Finally I collected the courage to utter a few words. "Go on, do it. Get it over with." "Why are you doing this Clone?" He spoke sharply. I was caught by surprise, droids had never asked why we were attacking them, then I gathered the words, anger growing. " You betrayed the Republic, you betrayed all of us, scum. I should be asking that question." The Jedi looked genuinely confused, I didn't understand it. Suddenly I heard a noise, and the Jedi jolted, then looked at me with deep sadness and confusion in his eyes, then fell to the ground, smoking with a black hole in his back. I was shocked, then I heard a deep voice yell over the fight, "No mistakes this time Flybolter. I won't be able to watch out for you throughout this entire battle." I saw that it was Jagger, who handed me a new rifle. He had been the one who had shot that Jedi. He never had a chance, he was talking to me. To my somewhat bewilderment anger started rising with every heartbeat. Suddenly it exploded, and I couldn't understand it. "You killed him!" I yelled, panting. "That's the idea." Jagger responded darkly. Then he ran off into the sea of blue white and brown before I could say anything else. Suddenly I heard the familiar, terrifying hum, of a lightsaber behind me. I whirled around to see yet another Jedi. It was a male too, however it was much younger, and had an odd braid. It must have been a Padawan. He had a furious expression on his face, and lunged at me. I dodged out of the way, and while he was in a vulnerable position, punched him in the face. He cried out and fell to the ground, his hands covering his face. Suddenly, it took control again. I felt no sympathy for the traitor. The only thing that mattered, was that the Jedi be stopped. I stepped over to him, and picked up his lightsaber, smirking. "Its rude to sneak up on people. Didn't your master ever tell you that?" At this the boy jumped up with an angry scream and threw out his hands. Suddenly an invisible force threw me across the grounds. It felt like I had been hit by a bus. I landed against a pillar, my armor cracking. I was momentarily dazed, but as the kid ran at me, I gathered my wits and raised my DC-15. I pulled the trigger. But... nothing happened. I looked, and saw that the laser crystal no longer shown with its usual blue light. But instead, it was a dull, lightless grey color. I was out of ammo. I cursed and looked up, the Jedi was almost to me. There was only one thing I could do. I raised his lightsaber, which had somehow remained in my hand, and pressed the button. Nothing happened. I pressed it again, still nothing. Suddenly it flew from my grip, and landed in the extended hand of the Jedi. Immediately green light flew out from it. "Only Force users can activate a lightsaber. Didn't you know that?" Spoke the kid. He spoke in a calm voice, but his eyes were filled with fury. I clenched my fists, I was shaking. A voice in my head screamed over and over, "Kill the Jedi! Kill the Jedi!!!" "You killed my master!" He shouted suddenly. I looked up. He was shaking too. "You... Y- You were supposed to save us! You were supposed to be our FRIENDS!" He spat. "But you... You killed him!... YOU KILLED HIM!!!" Before I could do anything, he lunged at me, and this time I was too slow. The green light penetrated my shoulder. I screamed out in agony. The kid dug it in deeper and deeper, tears rolling down his face. Now we were both screaming. Finally he pulled his saber out of my shoulder. I could barely breathe. I was in absolute agony, I could feel the blood trickling down my arm. I started to feel a little light headed. Suddenly my attention was directed back to the boy, as I once again gazed upon that deadly green light. He raised his saber. I panicked, he was going to kill me. I had to think of something fast. But I couldn't think straight with the pain. I could barely see right. "This is for you, master!" He yelled. "Would your master have wanted you to murder a defenseless prisoner!" I gasped. The boy looked momentarily startled. This was the chance I needed. I kicked out with all my remaining strength, connecting with his chest. He doubled over, and his lightsaber fell to the ground, still activated. I jumped up, the pain was overwhelming. I screamed in agony. However I knew that at any moment the kid would attack again. That, or I would just pass out. I needed to act quickly. I tried to ignore the pain, and scooped up his lightsaber. I stared at the green beam for a moment, then turned my attention back to the kid, who was face down on the ground, completely still. I inched forward, gripping the lightsaber tightly, knowing he'd spring to life immediately. But he didn't. I reached him, and pointed his lightsaber at the back of his head. But he did not move. I was confused. Had I knocked him out? I kicked him over so that he was on his back, and I could see his face. I gasped and jumped back, startled. His eyes were open, staring at me. But he still did not move. I cautiously stepped forward again, and noticed that his eyes were unfocused, and lifeless. He wasn't.... I didn't.... My eyes fell to a bloody bullet wound in his chest. I gasped... Then looked up at his pale face. He was dead. But... but how?! he hadn't shot him... Or had he? His gun... It...must have fired after all. But how had he not noticed? Or had the kid already had that wound before he found him? And him kicking his wound... That must have...That must have caused him to... But why was he sorry? The Jedi had betrayed him. They had betrayed them all! But...how had they betrayed him? His head began to throb again... What was HAPPENING! My head throbbed even more. "I didn't mean to kill him..." I whispered. "I DIDN'T MEANT TO KILL HIM!" I shouted again. I screamed as a sudden burst of pain exploded inside my head. It was unbearable. I threw off my helmet and collapsed to the ground, my hands clutching the sides of my head, I screamed even more as I fell onto my bad shoulder. Pain. Confusion. Why were they doing this? Why were they killing the Jedi? What had they done? A voice inside his head screamed over and over again "''KILL THE JEDI! KILL THEM!" But he fought it this time. No the Jedi are our friends! More pain. KILL THE JEDI!!! '' ''No! We can't! KILL THEM!!!! "NO!!!" I shouted aloud. Suddenly the pain became so intense that I felt like my head was about to explode. I screamed, and clawed at my head. As if trying to let out a savage beast inside of it. Then, the pain became to much to bear. The world began to fade into blackness. However, right before I passed out completely, I saw the image of Mavrick Turbo running to me. 2300. The Awakening. Slowly, slowly, I started to open my eyes. The light in the room seemed blinding compared to the darkness that had consumed me for so long. It took my eyes a few moments to adjust, but finally a figure began to come into focus. It was Resh Turbo. "Hey, you're awake! How ya feelin?" "Like I was trampled by a bantha." I reply in a croak of a voice. I am surprised to hear my voice, it seems like a long time since I have heard it. I am even more surprised to hear humor coming from it. It all seems wrong. I can't remember a thing. But I feel something bad happened. Something really bad. I am glad there is someone I recognize here, otherwise I would probably panic. But at least I know that I'm with my squad. That I am safe. "Haha. Glad to hear it." Resh responds. I groan and try to sit up, but Resh stops me. "No, don't. You're still pretty banged up, man. Better to just lay down." He gives me an understanding look. He knows I can't sit still. My head slowly turns to the left, and a large bandage on my shoulder comes into clarity. I frown at it. Then I notice something else. I feel bandages all over my head as well. I'm still pretty drugged up to feel it, but if I weren't, I sense that my head would really be hurting. I vaguely remember something clawing at me. Or... was that me? I get my first good look at the room I am in. We are definitely in the Hyena Brigade base. I remember this med-center well. But what the hell happened? I decide to ask him. "Resh... What-- What happened?" I manage to get out. Resh stares at me. "You mean you really don't remember?" He says with a piercing look. I swallow. "Nothing." I reply. Resh raises an eyebrow. "Well, that makes my job a lot harder then, doesn't it? Where do I even start?" He says, shaking his head. "How about at the beginning." I suggest. He turns and points at me. "Good idea!" I wait, impatiently, as he gathers himself. Finally be begins to speak. " Well..... The Jedi Knights attempted to take over the Republic. They had been planning this for a very long time, and finally decided to come forth. All these, "Younglings", weren't being trained to keep the peace. They were being trained to be killers. We were on Felucia when we received word that the Jedi had begun the uprising. They had actually attempted to assasinate Chancellor Palpatine! Thankfully, they only managed to injure him, and he's recovering. However, when we received word of this we had to take action. Burner led us on attack of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, while other divisions took out the Jedi that were off-world. Let me tell you, it wasn't easy. When we stormed the Temple we were met with heavy resistance. We hadn't battled Jedi before. We weren't anticipating the powers they had. Nearly half of the legion was dead by dawn, and the Brigade lost about 3/4 of our original force. My eyes widened. "What?!" I exclaimed. Resh gave me a solemn look. "Yeah. I know." He said. I couldn't believe it. The Jedi were traitors? Almost all of the squad was dead?! My head was spinning with a million questions, but I decided to ask the one that was most important to me. "Who... Who of us is left?" I asked quietly, terrified of the answer. Resh looked at the ground. "We lost Bobus and Jason. Easton is heavily wounded, we don't know if he'll make it. And Warrior is missing in action." He said quietly. My mouth fell open. Warrior, I had known him since training, one of the first Hyenas, dead for all I knew. Lieutenant Easton. The best sniper in the army, dying on a cot. Jason, known for his incredible stealth abilities who had saved my life on multiple occasions, dead. Bobus Whipboost, my good friend who had fought beside me for over 2 years, dead. How? How could this have happened? It all seemed like a bad dream. One that I wanted to wake up from. I bit my tongue hard, but was only rewarded with a mouthful of blood. This wasn't a dream. Not one that I would wake up from anyway. So I had to face reality. Who was left? I thought for a moment, ( I had trouble concentrating, and kept picturing Jason's bloody corpse lying crippled on the stairs of the Jedi temple) and went through the names of the squad members I assumed were alive. Jagger Skirita, Resh Turbo, Burner Greencharger, Joshua Thermoblade, Tycho Hexbraker, Gavyn Burndriver, Mavrick Tur-- Mavrick! I turned to Resh, who was still looking at the floor, solemnly. "Resh!" I exclaimed. He jumped, startled to be broken from his own complicated thoughts. "What happened to Mavrick? Is he alright?" I asked. Resh's expression darkened. "Oh... Him." He said. I didn't like the sound of his voice. "Well, he attacked one of the troopers, tried to wrestle a gun away from him or something." He said. "And?" I asked, desperate to know where Mavrick was. "He's dead." Resh said, his expression unreadable. I just stared at him, too shocked to speak. Finally I managed to choke out one word. "What?" "Well, after he attacked our men we naturally had to gun him down." I stared at him incredulously. I couldn't believe it. Resh Turbo had murdered my best friend. My shock slowly wore off and was replaced by Anger. "What ever happened to, "Never leave a man behind"?! We work together to keep each other alive! How could you... How could you just kill him like that?!" I yelled, hating Resh. "I didn't, Jagger did. But the times have changed. We serve Emperor Palpatine, and anyone who gets in the way of his plans will meet a similar fate!" Resh said, his voice raised and with equal venom. Was it just my imagination, or did his eyes turn black? Suddenly I remembered something he had said. A word. One word that would change the galaxy forever. "Did you say, Emperor Palpatine?" Resh smiled. "That's right Flash. The Republic was weak. They let the star systems separate from the Republic and form the CIS, they let them build the clankers, and they had no army to protect themselves when the Separatist began to attack. The Senate could never decide on anything, and because of this poor leadership we were forced into a galactic-wide war. We were created to die for the Republic, but they let this all happen, they did this to themselves! But no more. Now, the Chancellor has reformed the Republic into the first Galactic Empire. Now the galaxy is unified. There will be no more wars, and no more conflict. We will make sure of that." "But, I don't understand if the war is over why aren't we free?" Resh shook his head. "It's just a political reform. We are still sworn to serve the Chancellor, and he's still the same man even if he has a different title. We were dedicated to be protectors of the galaxy since birth, and just because there's a different political system in place, doesn't mean we can abandon our duties. The clankers may be gone, but there will be new threats. The Jedi are still out there." I leaned back and took it all in. How could so much have happened while I was out? "But, I didn't come to give you a history lesson. I came by to see if you and Easton were alive. We can't afford to lose anymore troops." For the first time I noticed Easton at a cot to my left. He was unconscious, and had many cords hooked into him." "How is he?" I asked. "Not good. He's using up all our bacta tanks and isn't improving at all. Burner's thinking about cutting him off life support here in a day or two if he doesn't improve." "Blast. Come on Easton, you've gotta..." I stopped as a sudden thought popped into my head. I turned to Resh. "Was Burner thinking of taking me off life support too?" I asked him. Resh was silent for a moment, before saying, "You had one more day." I said nothing. Suddenly Resh jumped up and headed for the doorway. "Well, It's good to see you Flash." And with that, he left. My gaze stayed fixated on the doorway and I thought about everything I'd just learned. Most of the Brigade was dead. Mavrick was dead. The Jedi were traitors, and the Republic was gone. And, as if things couldn't get any worse, I couldn't even remember how I had gotten injured. I knew one thing though, I had to get out of this blasted infirmary. I touched my shoulder gingerly, and it felt okay so I ripped out the cords that were pumping drugs into me. I had to get out of here. I had to talk to Burner. I got up from my bedside and stumbled toward the doorway. I exited out and immediately got a blast of sunshine, a stark contrast from the dreary interior of the med center. I shielded my eyes a bit until they adjusted, then looked around. The base seemed oddly empty. There were no guards at the doorways, no one loading crates, and no hoots and hollers from the recreation area. I spotted a lone clone in the distance by one of the turrets. He leaned against one of them lazily and stared at the huge ryloth mountains that surrounded the base. Then I noticed a clone to my left hanging off the doorway of an Laat, cleaning his rifle. I started to make my way to the briefing room since Burner was usually in there, studying the holo maps. The pain in my shoulder was growing exponentially with every second without the painkilling drugs, but I didn't care. For some reason it was very important to talk to Burner. I got to the briefing room and looked inside. Surrounding the holotable were Burner, Jagger, and Wullfe, all deep in hushed conversation. At the sight of Jagger, I forgot about everything I was about to do. I remembered what Resh had said, that Jagger had landed the shot that had killed my best friend. I wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face. Suddenly Jagger noticed me and signaled to Burner. Everyone stopped talking and Burner looked up. "Flash, shouldn't you be in the infirmary?" Burner said. "I was, but I'm feeling fine now sir," I responded. "Flash, I'm glad to see you up and around but the other day you were half dead. I think you need to get back to the med center and rest." "Really sir, I'm fine. Joe said a little walking around and getting the blood pumping again would be good for me," I said. Of course, this was lie. I hadn't seen Joe anywhere now that I thought about it. "Well... if Joe gave the okay then I guess you can stay. What do you want to know?" Burner responded. I thought for a second. "How long was I out?" I asked. "A little over a week." Burner replied. "Blast. Look, sir. I don't remember much, but Resh filled me in. Is there really an Empire?" I asked. I felt if Burner confirmed it, then it would become a reality. "Affirmative. The Clone Troopers serve as the military force for the Galactic Empire now," Burner responded. There it was. "In fact," Burner said, moving towards the doorway, "we're just about to perform an important ceremony out in the courtyard. If you're feeling well enough, I think you should come." A ceremony? Why the hell not. "Sure, I'll go." I agreed. "Alright follow me," Burner commanded. Without another word, Burner left the room, followed closely by Wullfe and Jagger. I slowly followed the rest of them out. Burner marched into the middle of the courtyard, then turned around and waited for us to join him. I looked around at the vacant courtyard. "Pretty nice ceremony." I commented. Then Burner pulled out a DC-15 and shot it into the air twice. A few seconds passed, then figures started emerging from many different parts of the base. They all gathered in a line before Burner, and we waited until at last there was no movement. I was astonished to see how few men there were. We waited. All was silent, until a voice at the end of the line broke, "What the bloody hell is he doing out of bed?!" Joe exclaimed, pointing at me. Burner sighed and gave me a side glance, but thankfully decided to ignore it for now, "Doesn't matter. He's here now and he's going to witness this. We all are." "What are we doing, sir?" Asked Regulus, who I now recognized as the trooper who I had seen earlier at the gunship. Burner lowered his DC-15. "We're going to prove our allegiance to the Empire. We're going to burn the Republic flag." There were a few signs of astonishment, but the majority of the men were completely still, and continued to stare at Burner. Burner began to speak again. "I once stood here, among 100 loyal troopers. Now there are no more than 20. The war took some, the Jedi took more. But in the end, almost all of the Hyena Brigade fell because of the Republic. It was a weak and corrupt organization! But no more. Now the Republic has been replaced. Replaced by a vast, grand, Galactic, Empire!" The men roared their approval. "It's time for a new era! An era of order!" The men roared again. "Now we must prove our loyalty to the Empire!" Burner went to the flagpole which proudly displayed the Republic flag. It waved gently in the wind, enough to show off it's symbol which we recognized so well. Burner pulled the flag down and released it from the ropes, then ran back over to the group and displayed the flag in front of him. At this instance Jagger stepped in front of Burner with some sort of torch in hand. Burner yelled to the group with such vigor like I had never seen before. "Let it be known that the Republic is dead! All those who remain loyal to the old ways are traitors to the Empire! Our armor will be replaced! The symbols on our gear will change to imperial! We shall raise the Imperial flag for the first time! Today dawns a new era!" Then Jagger put his torch to one of the corners of the flag and the flames spread across the face of it. Burner threw it to the ground and the flames rose high into the air. "Long live the Empire!" Burner shouted. "Long live the Empire!" ''All the men roared. It turned into a chant as the flames grew. "''Long live the Empire!" ''The red flag was turning black and crackling up. "Long live the Empire!" I cheered. Finally, the chant died down, and when the men dispersed the Republic flag was nothing but embers. '''1900 - The Awakening Part II' Mavrick Turbo's eyes shot open. His eyes began darting around the room as he scanned his surroundings. Where was he? He decided to sit up but suddenly a horrible, flaming, explosive pain erupted from his stomach and he collapsed back onto the cot with a scream. He looked down at the source of the pain to see that his entire torso area was wrapped in blood-stained bandages. "What the--" Mavrick said. As his eyes darted about the room again, he began to panic. He had no idea where he was. "Hey! HEY! Someone help me!" He yelled. He winced as another sharp pain shot through his body. Footsteps sounded from another room, and before Mavrick knew it the familiar face of Captain Rex was at the doorway. "Hey Turbo. Glad to see you're awake." He said. "C-Captain. What are you doing here?" Mavrick asked. "Saving your life." Rex responded as he walked into the room. It was at this moment that the memories came flooding back. "Oh no... no, no, no, no, no! It's not me that needs saving! It's the Jedi! We've gotta get to the temple we've gotta stop the clones!" Mavrick said frantically as he tried to get up. "Turbo, stop." Rex said. "They're gonna kill em!" He yelled as he started to push himself up. "MAVRICK!" Rex shouted angrily, "It's too late!" Mavrick stopped struggling. He slowly looked around at his surroundings to see that there was a single dim light in the shelter, and no windows. Then, as if he had suddenly been lifted out of the water, he began to hear the sounds of the world. Shouts came from afar, joined closely by crazed laughter. Whatever lay beyond these walls seemed to reek of insanity and bloodlust. He carefully turned back to face the Captain. "Sir...Where are we?" Rex sighed. "We're in the underworld of Coruscant. It's the safest place I could think of bringing you." "Safe?" Mavrick asked, confused. The underworld of Coruscant was one of the most wretched places in the galaxy. Full of crime lords, murderers, and worse. It was a lot of things, but safe was not one of them. "Yes. Compared to what's on the surface," Rex responded gravely. It was at this moment that Mavrick knew something was terribly wrong. "What exactly happened while I was out?" He asked, frightened of the answer. Rex sighed and sat down. "It's a long story. Once I found out that my own legion, the 501st was attacking the Jedi Temple, I hijacked a starship and rushed to Coruscant a fast as I could. But when I got in closer I realized I was too late. Half the temple was on fire, and the statues guarding it had collapsed. The first thing I noticed when I landed my speeder was the bodies. There were so many..." The Captain had a faraway look in his eyes, and it took a moment for him to start up again with his story. "Then, as I started looking around, I spotted you. It wasn't that difficult. After all, you modelled your armor after mine. I thought you were dead just like the others, but when I checked your pulse you were still alive, barely. I noticed that you had been hit by a blaster bolt, not a lightsaber, and I put the two and two together. I gathered as many bacta packs as I could from the dead, and did my best job of being a doctor. However, about an hour in the temple doors started to open." Mavrick swallowed. "W-Were there any Jedi?" Rex shook his head. "I rushed us back to the speeder and took off, but when I looked back there were only Clone Troopers." Mavrick's gaze fell. "So...That means…” He trailed off. “Yeah,” Rex finished somberly. Mavrick was silent for a moment. “That still doesn't explain why you brought me here," he said without looking up. Rex sighed. "Turbo..." He became agitated and his head darted about the room, as if he were hoping to find something in the shelter to give him the strength to continue on. Mavrick glanced up. "Sir?" he asked cautiously. "Mavrick maybe you should get some rest. You're wounded." Rex said. "What aren't you telling me? What else happened?" Mavrick demanded. "Nothing--I just" Rex stopped, sighed in a surrendering fashion, and looked at Mavrick. The Captain's eyes were filled with emptiness. "We failed, Turbo. Palpatine has taken over the galaxy." Mavrick stared, dumbfounded at him. "What?" "He demolished the Republic and replaced it with an empire. His empire. Now everyone serves him, and anyone who disobeys are named traitors, and can be executed by the Clone Troopers. Freedom and justice died with the Jedi, Sergeant. Now we are property of the Emperor." Mavrick stared at the wall in horror. "So it’s everything we feared then?" Rex shook his head in the darkness. "Worse." "So...What do we do?" Mavrick asked. "Well I sure as hell am not serving Palpatine. We'll make our livings down here, and once things settle down a bit on the surface I’ll get us out of here and we can try to find jobs elsewhere. No one will be looking for us. You're presumed dead, and when Order 66 was initiated I put a dead clone body into my armor, so I'm presumed dead as well. If they ever find out we're alive though, and that we disobeyed the Order, they'll kill us." Rex finished. "So that's it then? We ''hide?" Mavrick asked, appalled. "Have you got a better idea?" Rex asked. "We fight." Mavrick said determinedly. There was a moment of silence before Rex started laughing. "Us and what army?" "It doesn't matter. We can't just stay down here in the underworld and pretend like nothing's happened. We know the truth, and that gives us a responsibility to do something about it." Mavrick replied. "Look, I'm sure your intentions are good, but you just don't get it." Rex said. "So your solution is to run and hide from the Empire like scared mice?" Mavrick replied angrily. Rex grew serious. "Look kid, you don't know what I know. You haven't seen what I've seen. The Empire has unlimited resources, and we have nothing. If we go against them, we die. Simple as that." There was silence. It seemed to stretch on for an eternity, and the darkness in the shelter was unwavering. Mavrick thought about what the Captain had said. If this Empire was as large as he described, was there any chance of surviving a war against it? Was it worth it to resist? But then Mavrick remembered what had happened to his brothers. He remembered what had happened to the Jedi. Mavrick broke the silence. “I’m going to fight sir,” He said with a tone of finality. “You’re gonna end up dead.” Captain Rex said bitterly. “Maybe. But if there’s even a slight chance I can set the galaxy free again, it’ll be worth it.” Rex sighed and looked at him. “You’ve got courage, Turbo. I’ll give you that. So what’s your plan?” Mavrick paused for a second. “There’ve gotta be more clones than just us who have resisted the chip. We have get to them before the Empire does. Once we do, we'll keep them safe until they're ready to fight. Rex shook his head. "You're just hoping. There's no evidence that there are any others like us out there." "Yes, there is." Mavrick responded firmly. "Then what is it?" Rex shot back. “When I was at the temple, before I got shot by…” his tone became bitter, “''Jagger''. I spotted my squad-mate, Flash. He wasn’t fighting... he was screaming. Screaming, “''I didn’t ''mean to kill them.” '' There was silence for a moment. Rex stared at Mavrick with his mouth open slightly. “You-You think he was resisting it?” “I have no idea. But there’s only one way to find out.” Mavrick responded. "We have to pay my old squad a visit." Before Mavrick hadn't really noticed the pain. He had known it was there, but it hadn't been able to creep into full focus. That is until now. All of a sudden that raw, horrible, sick pain emanating from his torso flared up again with full force. He looked down to see that in all the excitement he had begun to bleed again. "You're not going anywhere except to a doctor." Rex said, who had also noticed and was looking at it worriedly. "Field packs can do much but they can't heal a blast to the stomach like that. And plus we're all out of them anyway." "What-..." Mavrick closed his eyes. His fists were clenched. Then he opened them and said strongly, "What do we do?" "There's nowhere here in the underworld I can take you. Unless you want to wake up one day with a scalpel in your stomach..." Rex said. The Captain thought for a second. "Wait...Wait I think I remember something. When I was flying towards Coruscant there was a Venator class cruiser orbiting the planet. It must have been there to drop off the legions at the temple gates. But they would know that there would be a lot of wounded after such an attack, so there's bound to be a lot of medical staff on board. All we need to do is blend in with the other clones so that we can get to that ship for treatment. Then we sneak off before anyone notices." "Y-Yes sir..." Mavrick said. He was already feeling a little lightheaded. "We have to go. Now." Rex said, getting up. "Can you walk?" "Let's find out," Mavrick said. He slowly sat up, and there was an enormous explosion of pain. It was somehow even worse than before. He cried out, but didn't fall back. He clenched his fists and with difficulty he managed to push himself into a position where he was sitting on the edge of the bed. He breathed heavily and sat there for a minute, gathering himself. Then he extended a hand. Rex reached down and grabbed it firmly. "You ready?" He asked. Mavrick nodded. Rex pulled him up, and the pain was unbearable. Mavrick screamed. "GAAAAAAAH!!!" Rex struggled to keep him upright. Blood bled through the bandages on the Sergeant's stomach, falling in small droplets to the floor. Rex cringed and looked at him. "Do you still think you can make it to the speeder, soldier?" He asked apprehensively. Mavrick had calmed down a bit, but was breathing heavily. "Move." He growled. Rex nodded and helped Mavrick to the doorway, always being alert in case he collapsed. They exited the room and made it into the only other room in the shelter, a crude living area. Behind it was a black door, and they made their way towards it. With each step Mavrick felt more and more faint, as his wound released more blood. The door seemed a mile away. By the time the two reached it Mavrick could already feel his strength nearly exhausted. Rex kept one hand one hand on Mavrick's shoulder while placing the other on an old fashioned datapad. After a second there was a beep, a green light, and the door grudgingly opened. The shelter was in a secluded part of the underworld, however there were a few other buildings scattered a reasonable distance away, and the noises Mavrick had heard earlier could still be heard somewhere to the north. Rex scanned the surroundings carefully, and then helped Mavrick out of doorway. As soon as they were both outside, the door closed behind them and they made their way to the left side of the house. Suddenly Rex's speeder came into view, but something was wrong. There was a single figure on top of it, stroking it and giggling softly. Rex immediately took out his pistol and shot him. There was a scream and the body rolled off the speeder and onto the ground. This barely registered with Mavrick. His vision was getting hazy, and he felt like he might pass out at any second. One thing continued to keep him awake though: the sound of his blood, splattering onto the pavement, like his life dripping away. He was afraid. He thought if he went to sleep now, he would never wake up. So he resisted it. Rex half-dragged him to the speeder, and when Mavrick got to the step board he teetered backwards. Rex pushed him forward, but Mavrick had no strength left. He collapsed onto the speeder. "Dammit Turbo don't quit now, we're almost there." Rex said, but his voice was distant, almost like a dream. When Mavrick remained limp Rex grabbed him, lifted him up with difficulty, and half-dropped him into the backseat. Mavrick couldn’t stay awake anymore; his world was fading in and out of focus. However, right before he lost consciousness completely, he saw a group of men sneak up behind the captain. One carried a club, and he slammed it into the back of Rex’s skull. The last image Mavrick saw was Rex’s crippled body falling to the ground.